New Michael Jackson Song Premieres

Another song from the forthcoming Michael Jackson LP Michael was released Tuesday. "Much Too Soon" is a ballad of lost love that's being streamed free for one week in Apple's new music-centric social network, iTunes Ping.

The song opens with gently plucked acoustic guitar that's more than a little reminiscent of the intro to MJ's 1972 hit "Ben." It then moves into a full acoustic arrangement loaded with strings and brief accordion and harmonica passages. Jackson's vocal is soft and restrained throughout.

According to Jackson's website, the song was written at the time of Thriller: "Michael always liked the song and would pull it back out of the vaults for each subsequent album project but never found the right home for it." The song, written by Jackson and co-produced by the singer with John McClain, now a co-executor of his estate, will be the closing track on Michael.

Check Out All of Rolling Stone's coverage in "Michael Jackson Remembered."

"Much Too Soon" is the third song to be previewed from Michael, joining "Breaking News" and the Akon collaboration "Hold My Hand." The album is slated for release on December 14.

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Song Stories

“Help Me”

Joni Mitchell | 1974

Joni Mitchell wrote and recorded this song for her album Court and Spark, but she had to switch from her regular band to make the song sound exactly the way she wanted. "I had attempted to play my music with rock & roll players," she told Rolling Stone. "They’d laugh, 'Awww, isn't that cute? She's trying to teach us how to play.'" Mitchell switched to a jazz band, Tom Scott’s L.A. Express, and scored the biggest hit of her career in the process.

More Song Stories entries »

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